Knowing how to move out is as important as how to move in. Following the advice on this page can help you take control of your situation. We will cover important things to remember about ending your lease and eviction.

We based this information on Utah housing law. Other state housing laws may be different. If you need legal advice, please reach out to an attorney. If you have a very low income, you may qualify for free or low-cost legal aid from the Utah Legal Services.

Ending Your Lease

When you decide to move, you will need to end your lease. Ending your lease can be a confusing process. We have listed some helpful tips on things to remember about ending your lease. These will help you when you are ready to move.

Check Your Lease Terms

Your lease will include details on how to end your lease. Always check your lease for these terms. These can include details on deposit returns, move out notices, or ending a lease early.

Tell Your Landlord You Intend to Move

You should always tell your landlord when you intend to move. This is called giving them notice. Make sure your notice is in writing, and that you document proof of them receiving it. You should give you landlord notice at least 30-days before your last day in your housing. Some leases need you to give notice up to 90 days before you move. Make sure your notice is in writing.

You should give notice you are moving even if your lease is going to expire. Most leases say that a lease will become month-to-month if no one gives a notice. Month-to-month leases last for one month at a time and have higher costs. If you want to move, you need to tell your landlord you won’t renew your lease.

Your landlord may give you a notice before your lease ends. This can include a termination notice. You should receive a termination notice at least 30-days before your lease expires. This may be different if you are paying week-to-week, or if your lease terms are different.

Be sure you leave your apartment on the last day of your lease. Return your keys to your landlord, and get their confirmation they have them in writing. If you stay longer, landlords can sometimes charge you fees or extra rent.

Use our Template Notice for Ending Your Lease (PDF | 70 KB)

Ending Your Lease Early

Ending your lease early can be very difficult. Landlords don’t generally allow this. If you have special circumstances you can ask your landlord if you can end your lease early. These include:

• Active military service
• Proof of domestic violence
• Large rennovation needs with your housing.

Get any agreements with them in wiriting to prove you worked something out. You should still give notice you will be moving within the time set out by the lease. You can also find someone to replace you on the lease. This can help you reduce your liability if the landlord approves them.

If you move early, there may be extra costs. These could include:

• Remaining rental payments on the lease.
• Costs for finding new tenants.
• Extra damages to the property.

Getting Back Your Security Deposit

If you made a security deposit when moving in, you should get it back when you move out. Leave your landlord a forwarding address to send the money. This can be your new housing, or the address of someone you trust.

Landlords may deduct certain costs from your deposit. These can include large damages to the unit, cleaning costs, or other charges.

Document the condition of your apartment when you leave. You can take pictures, videos, or ask landlord staff to do a walk through of your unit. You can use these as proof of the condition when you left. Compare these to documentation you took when you moved in. Ask them for a list of the charges they will make. You may fix some of their charges, like a deep cleaning of the unit. You can also ask for a second walkthrough after you address any charges. Keep records if they refuse to tell you charges or walk through your unit.

The landlord must pay back your security deposit within 30-days after you move out. They must also send you a list of any deductions they make. If they don’t pay you, include a list, or wait more than 30-days, there are things you can do. The law requires the landlord respond to your notice within 5 days. You should give them a notice of this. If the landlord doesn’t respond or comply, you may need to sue them in small claims court. You If the court finds your landlord acted in bad faith, you could get your full deposit back. You could also get back any advance rent you paid, an extra $1,000, and attorney’s fees you pay.

Submit a Tenant’s Notice to Provide Deposit Disposition* (PDF | 159 KB).

If you did not give early enough notice of moving out, you may not get your deposit back. The same may be true if you move before your lease ends.

Getting Evicted

Your landlord may evict you from your housing. An eviction is a legal process by a landlord removing you from your housing. We have listed some information to help you through the eviction process.

What is an Eviction

An eviction is a lawsuit filed by a landlord to remove people and belongings from their property. Utah law calls these “forcible entry and detainer” or “forcible detainer” lawsuits. Evictions always must involve a notice of eviction and a court process.

Why Landlord Evict

Landlords may evict you for many reasons. These include not paying rent, breaking your lease rules, or staying past the end of your lease.

If the landlord sells, dies, or transfers your property, the new owner may evict you. If their property is foreclosed, U.S. law gives you some protections. The new owner must give you 90-days notice before filing an eviction. This protection does not extend to other transfers of the ownership of your unit.

Landlords Cannot Discriminate

Some landlords may try to evict you because of discimination. Your landlord cannot discriminate against you when evicting. This means limiting your rights included in your lease. It also means treating you differently or unfairly. The U.S. Fair Housing Act lists your rights against discrimination. The details in this Act allow tenants to sue landlords for illegal discimination.

Sometimes landlords will evict in retaliation. Retaliationmeans punishing you for exercising your legal rights. This could happen if you report your landlord breaking a lease or for poor living conditions. Retaliation is also illegal.

Getting an Eviction Notice

A landlord must start this process by giving you a notice to vacate and demand for possession. A notice of eviction must be in writing. Verbal notices are not legal. If you get an eviction notice, it’s important to take action and not ignore the notice. Notices will give you several days to respond. You can take some small steps to stop or delay your eviction.

You have the right to stay in your housing even after the notice expires. Until your landlord has a court order, they cannot legally:

• Change the locks on your doors.
• Shut off any utilities, such as water, electricity, or gas.
• Take possession of any property that belongs to you.
• Enter the rental unit without advance notice, except in the case of a true emergency.
• Harass, intimidate, or threaten you or your guests.
• Prevent you from freely entering and leaving the property.

Staying in your unit after a notice can put you in a hard position. It can be very expensive and make future renting difficult.If the landlord will not delay or stop the eviction, they will take the case to court.

Court Evictions

Landlords cannot evict you without a court order. Getting through the full court process for an order can take several weeks. If you do not move, the landlord will file an eviction lawsuit. A judge or jury will then decide whether the landlord can end your lease.

Going to eviction courts in Utah can have big consequences that may follow you for a long time. These court records are public information. Even if you win, other landlords may see your court records and not want to rent to you in the future. It can also impact your credit score and make it harder for you to find public housing aid. This includes Section 8 vouchers or renting rent-subsidized properties.

If you loose the case, your landlord can remove you from your housing. The court may also make you pay treble damages to your landlord. Treble damages are fees that could include:

• Triple the daily rent for each day you stay past the eviction notice expires.
• Triple the amount you owe in unpaid rent.
• Triple the amount of money you owe under the lease (including late fees).
• Triple the amount it costs to repair any damages you caused to the unit. This happens if the eviction was for causing physical harm or neglect to the property.
• Triple the amount it costs to undo any nuisance you caused. This happens if the eviction was for causing public nuisance on your property.
• Attorney and court fees.

This can add up to lots of money and lots of debt. You can estimate your daily using this calculator. This will tell you the cost of each extra day you stay in your housing after the eviction notice expires.

It is best to try to keep court cases off your record. You can try to come to an agreement with your landlord or move out before they file a case in court.

What You can Do

If you are getting evicted, there are few things you can do. you should try to get legal advice from an attorney.

Seek Legal Services

In Utah, there is not much you can do to fight an eviction. But many recommend you consult with an expert about what you can do. You can reach out to Utah Legal Services or the Utah Legal Help portal. They can connect you with free or low-cost legal aid.

If your landlord discriminates or retaliates against you, seek legal aid. Contact a provider like the Disability Law Center. You can also file a discrimination complaint.

Try Mediation

It never hurts to see if your landlord would be willing to work through the problem with you. Using a Landlord-Tenant mediation service can help both sides come to an agreement.

Begin Looking for a New Place to Live

Most notices do not give you much time, so you need to act quickly. You may want to reach out to trusted family and friends to see if you could move in with them for a short time. This will give you a place to stay while you find a more permanent solution.

Find McKinney-Vento Services for Children

If you have school aged children, ask their school about McKinney-Vento services. They may qualify to remain in and get transportation to and from their current school. This is also true if your children lack a regular nighttime residence.

• Contact the Utah Legal Services
• Contact the Disability Law Center
• Visit the Utah Legal Help Portal
• File a Discrimination Complaint
• Learn about the UCA Landlord-Tenant Mediation services
• Check out the SLC School District page for more information

Document Everything

If you have problems with your landlord when moving, you will want proof. Make sure you keep physical documentation of all communications with your landlord. This will help support your case if a landlord is breaking laws.

There are specific things you should document when moving out. Document when you return your key. Take photos or videos of your apartment condition. You should also document notices, inspection records, emails about moving, or lease changes.

When documenting, collect as much detail as possible. Include dates of communications and signature. Request signatures from your landlord when sending or receiving information. If you meet with them in person, ask for a written, dated, and signed note confirming what happened when you met. Paying for Certified Mail with Return Receipts can also help you document. Certified mail requires signatures from the recipient and sends you proof of delivery.

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